Human Trafficking

Mandatory sentences for criminal cases include drug trafficking, this can result in 3 to 25 years in prison. Broward County takes drug trafficking very serious. It is important to know your rights, do not wait, contact Fort Lauderdale Sex Crimes Lawyer Weick for information.

Human Trafficking Laws

Any person who knowingly engages, or attempts to engage, in human trafficking with the intent or knowledge that the trafficked person will be subjected to forced labor or services, or benefits financially by receiving anything of value from participation in a venture that has subjected a person to forced labor or services, commits the offense of human trafficking. A person who is found guilty of this offense commits a felony of the second degree, punishable as provided by statute.

“Forced labor or services” means labor or services obtained from a person by: (1) using or threatening to use physical force against that person or another person; (2) restraining, isolating, or confining or threatening to restrain, isolate, or confine that person or another person without lawful authority and against her or his will; (3) using lending or other credit methods to establish a debt by that person or another person when labor or services are pledged as a security for the debt, if the value of the labor or services as reasonably assessed is not applied toward the liquidation of the debt, the length and nature of the labor or services are not respectively limited and defined; (4) destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating, withholding, or possessing any actual or purported passport, visa, or other immigration document, or any other actual or purported government identification document, of that person or another person; (5) causing or threatening to cause financial harm to any person; or (6) fraud or coercion. Human trafficking is a predicate act for purposes of the Florida Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).

Recent Efforts in the Fight Against Human Trafficking

Alabama: Authorities want to raise the awareness of human trafficking in Birmingham. Currently, Alabama has an anti-human trafficking legislation, which penalizes child traffickers as class A felons.

Canada: Conservative MP Joy Smith is pushing for making it illegal to buy sex to combat human trafficking. She will unveil dozens of recommendation to fight the crime in Canada, which is a part of national action plan on Friday. The plan also includes more funding for the agencies assisting victims of human trafficking.

Oregon: Local advocates protests against a strip club school girls’ night in Portland. One of the protesters said that the sign promoting school girls’ night definitely place young girls as sex objects. Another protester, a former youth pastor and a teacher at a Christian school, said that he had seen the signs marketing for school girls night on the way of his children’s school.

California: A San Diego man who, along with several others, picked up a teen and took her to a motel, where she was forced to pose for sexually explicit photos to solicit “johns” on the Internet, was sentenced Monday to 15 years in federal prison.